Sailor Moon Conversations
by Raziel12
Summary: As one word can have many meanings, a single conversation can have many effects. Setsuna and Hotaru on the roof, at night, in the rain. NEW: Saturn and Venus and how to make an entrance.
1. Pluto and Saturn

**Sailor Moon Conversations 01: Pluto and Saturn**

It was cold on the roof, cold and wet. Thick locks of Setsuna's long emerald hair were plastered onto her forehead and little rivulets of moisture ran down her cheeks. It looked almost as if she was crying. As it was, she stood, still and quiet, her gaze drawn to the small figure that sat on the edge of the roof.

Hotaru.

"It's beautiful up here isn't it?" Hotaru's voice was soft, all but lost in the rain. There was a happiness to it as well, a strange, wondering sort of freedom, as though she knew just how odd it was to be up on the roof in the middle of the night with the rain pouring down, knew but didn't care.

Setsuna took a step across the roof and nearly slipped. The tiles were wet and despite herself she chanced a look over the side of the roof. It was a long way down.

"We should go back inside, Hotaru." Setsuna's eyes widened as Hotaru pulled her knees up to her chest and rocked slowly back and forth. "It's not safe up here."

Hotaru chuckled quietly and hopped up onto her feet. Setsuna's heat lurched as Hotaru teetered on the edge of the roof.

"Hotaru!"

"Don't worry, Setsuna-mama," Hotaru chided. "I'm not that careless." She half-skipped, half-swayed her way across the roof towards Setsuna. "Besides, I doubt that falling off the roof could kill somebody like me." A pained smile flickered across her lips and her violet eyes darkened till they were almost black.

"Why are you up here?" Setsuna's crimson eyes narrowed. "What were you doing?"

"I was listening." Hotaru brushed one soggy clump of lilac hair away from her face. "Just listening." She smiled and her expression became almost predatory. "It's just something I like to do, you know. When I have the time."

"Listening?" Setsuna frowned. "Listening to what?"

Hotaru chuckled and closed her eyes. "Oh, you know, everything." One violet eye crept open and there was nothing child-like in its gaze. "You can hear so many things up here, Setsuna-mama, all you have to do is listen."

Setsuna shivered beneath Hotaru's gaze, reminded suddenly of the power that dwelt within her daughter. "Hotaru, we really should go back inside."

Lightning crackled overhead and Hotaru smiled, a sad, strange little smile. Her eyes, twin orbs of burnished violet glittered in the twilight and she seemed suddenly older than her years. In the darkness her eyes seemed almost to glow, and her voice, when she spoke was filled with a terrible hunger

"Just a few moments more, Setsuna-mama." Hotaru turned her face up to the sky and sighed. "Can you hear that?" She laughed and faced Setsuna. "Why don't you give it a try? I really would like it if you stayed a little bit longer and just," she drew out each syllable of the word. "Listened."

For a long, long moment, Setsuna simply stared. There was something unnerving about Hotaru's smile. It wasn't like her daughter at all, and her eyes, she shivered again. Despite the warmth of Hotaru's words, her eyes were cold. But if it would get her off the roof and out of the rain…

"All right," Setsuna said at last. "I'll listen."

"That's great!" Hotaru clapped her hands and danced over to the edge of the roof and patted the spot beside her. "Come on."

Again Setsuna hesitated. There was just something disturbing about Hotaru's smile. It looked like a mask, and beneath it… beneath it, visible only in the deadness of Hotaru's purple eyes, was something altogether frightening. Not hate, not anger, just… just emptiness… just a coldness so total and absolute that it hurt just to look at it.

"Come on Setsuna-mama," Hotaru chided. "We haven't got all day."

Finally, Setsuna moved, stepping carefully to keep her balance.

"Now close your eyes, Setsuna-mama, close you eyes." Hotaru smiled, that same, strangely empty smile. "Close your eyes and listen."

Once again Setsuna hesitated. Was it because of Hotaru? Was she honestly afraid that her own daughter would push her off the roof? At any other time she would have thought herself crazy to even think about something like that. But here, in the darkness and the cold wet rain, and with Hotaru beside her with those dead, dead eyes, the possibility didn't seem so remote. She could almost picture it in her head.

"Trust me," Hotaru whispered and she wrapped her arms around Setsuna's waist. "Just trust me."

Despite her misgivings, Setsuna nodded and closed her eyes.

"Just listen for a little while, Setsuna-mama, that's all I ask." Hotaru's voice was a sibilant whisper. "Just a little while…"

Setsuna listened.

At first all she could hear was the rain. She heard the rhythmic cadence of raindrops as they exploded in little starbursts of moisture against the roof. As she listened the rhythm changed, became almost musical. It was beautiful.

"That's just the rain, Setsuna-mama," Hotaru whispered. "There's more, you know. Listen deeper."

Slowly the sound of the rain faded away to be replaced by something else. It was the wind, Setsuna realised, it was the wind that tore across the rooftops and rustled through the trees. The sound of it in her ears was almost like thunder and every muscle in her body tingled as a brisk wind swept across the roof.

"Deeper, Setsuna-mama, there's more, if you'll just listen."

In the distance Setsuna could hear the quiet rumble of cars and the clatter of a train. At the end of the street she heard a car alarm go off and beneath it, the quiet bubble of water as it rushed along the gutters.

"Just a little bit longer, Setsuna-mama, you're almost there."

Setsuna listened deeper until she became aware of the rasp of her own breath, of the quiet, barely audible rustle of her clothing as she shifted to stay comfortable. And then even those things faded, faded and faded until at last they were gone and there was only the ringing in her ears and then…

Silence.

Total and absolute.

It was there, beneath everything. Beneath the symphony of the rain and the roar of the wind, beneath her own laboured breath and the ringing in her ears.

Silence.

Her eyes shot open and she was suddenly, horribly disoriented. She swayed and would have fallen, but suddenly Hotaru's arms were around her and Hotaru's face was pressed into her back.

"That's the secret of the universe, Setsuna-mama." Hotaru's words were a low rumble, spoken directly into Setsuna's back. "In the end that's all there is," she stressed each word. "Silence."

And then, just like that, Hotaru's arms were gone and Setsuna spun to find her daughter walking calmly across the roof.

"Come on, Setsuna-mama," Hotaru whispered. "You said we should go back inside."

It was only later, much later, alone in her bed and surrounded by the awful, awful silence that only the dead of night can bring, that Setsuna realised what had bothered her all along. It hadn't been Hotaru up there on the roof. Hotaru's smile wasn't empty and her eyes weren't dead.

It hadn't been Hotaru at all.

It was Saturn on the roof.

Shaking her head, Setsuna closed her eyes and tried to sleep. But try as she might she could still hear it. Beneath her breathing and the rustle of the wind against the windows, beneath the somnolent whispers and murmurs of the house, beneath everything there was, she could still hear it.

"Silence," Hotaru had whispered.

And there it was.

Everywhere.

Silence.

X X X X

It's been a while hasn't it. I'll be honest, I haven't been updating as much as I should have. Real life has really come into play this year. I'm in my Honours year and my Thesis absolutely devoured my time. But… now that it's over I've got more time to devote to writing fiction and I definitely want to get back into the swing of things. That said, I'm definitely a little rusty and so please forgive my ineptitude until I can get back into my groove.

Sailor Moon: Reflections dealt with one character at a time. In this series I'd like to look at how the characters interact. This particularl piece was something that I've always wanted to do. Although fairly little is said about Saturn's personality in either the manga or the anime, I think you do catch glimpses here and there. I wanted to try and capture how Setsuna would react to that personality, because out of all the Senshi she is the only who knows what Saturn was like before everything went bad in the Silver Millenium.

Anyway, as always, drop me a line. Tell me what you think. Good bad, whatever. Just tell me.


	2. Jupiter and Uranus

Sailor Moon Conversations 02: Jupiter and Uranus 

Makoto groaned and rolled onto her back. Her body immediately protested and little jolts of pain rippled along her bruised side and radiated out along her equally bruised arms and legs. Not far away, Haruka made a similar noise and Makoto grinned. At least she wasn't the only one in pain.

"Remind me again why we're doing this?" Makoto asked without bothering to turn her head in Haruka's direction. "Because at the moment I really can't think of anything."

Haruka's chuckle lasted all of two seconds before it ended in a sharp wince and a muttered expletive. "Because we're the only ones with any real martial arts experience and this way we both get a capable sparring partner."

"I see." Makoto nodded sagely. "So that's why we meet up every Sunday and beat each other senseless." She slanted a sideways look at Haruka. "How does that make any sense?"

"Well, for starters, who else are we going to practice with?" Haruked drawled. "Can you imagine going all out against Usagi?"

That thought had both of them cringing. They were both very protective of their princess and the thought of actually raising a hand to her just seemed, well, wrong. Not to mention they would have to contend with the blonde's infamous clumsiness outside of battle. It was more than a little unnerving. While the blonde rarely, if ever, put a foot wrong in battle, outside of it she was a disaster just waiting to happen. They shivered.

"And how about the others?" Haruka hissed as she propped herself up with one arm. "Can you even imagine throwing a punch at Setsuna?"

"Setsuna?" Makoto was graced by a sudden vision of Setsuna in a trench coat looking very much like someone out of the Matrix. Yes, she could see it now. Setsuna with a machine gun in each arm, Setsuna dodging bullets, Setsuna running up walls…

"What's so funny?" Haruka asked as Makoto's thoughtful expression dissolved into laughter.

"No, no, it's nothing." Makoto had to wipe a tear from her eye. "I just had this image of Setsuna in the Matrix. You know, the trench coat, the sunglasses, the whole shebang."

"And they call me weird," Haruka muttered. "Although… now that you mention it, I think I can see it." She put on her best Setsuna face and tried to imitate the emerald haired woman's usual measured tone. "Usagi… you are the One."

That had Makoto rolling around the grass in laughter for the better part of five minutes. By the time she had managed calm down enough to speak coherently, her bruised side had made its position on the matter very, very clear. No breathing, no moving and absolutely no laughing.

"You're evil, you know that, don't you?" Makoto rasped, too out of breath to do anything else. "Completely and utterly evil."

Haruka chuckled. "Well now you know." She staggered upright and stumbled over to the other girl. "Come on, up you get. There's still another half an hour before the others get here. That's another half an hour of practice we can fit in."

Makoto rolled her eyes. "Are you serious?"

"You're the one who suggested we meet up in the first place," Haruka replied. "Now come on." She grabbed one of Makoto's arms and pulled. "Get up."

"Fine," Makoto mumbled. "I was planning on pummelling you some more anyway."

"Oh, really?" A predatory smile appeared on Haruka's face. "Just how were you planning on pummelling me?" She glared at Makoto. "If I recall correctly, you were the one who called time out after being kicked in the stomach."

"This from the woman who said not to throw punches at her head in case she got a black eye." Makoto grinned evilly. "You're probably just afraid that you'll get into trouble with Michiru again if you come back with another black eye."

"That's it." Haruka dropped into what vaguely resembled a fighting stance. "You better get ready because I'm going to give you the beating of your life."

Makoto gave a short laugh and staggered into an equally sloppy looking stance. "Bring it on."

What followed was a battle of epic proportions. Kind of. While both Haruka and Makoto were excellent martial artists, with countless battles to their names, they were both very tired. Several hours of sparring tended to do that. As it was, passers-by were treated to the rather unique sight of two bedraggled women throwing an assortment of tired kicks and weak, half-hearted punches at each other. One passer-by even had the gall to suggest that the pair were drunk. That earned him a glare cold enough to flash-freeze water from Makoto and a smile more evil than any youma's from Haruka. Needless to say he beat a very hasty retreat.

Still, it wasn't very long before Haruka and Makoto were once again spread-eagled on the grass.

"You know, Haruka, you're really, really bad at this." Makoto was too tired to put any real venom into the words. "Terrible, really."

Haruka snorted. "You're not so great yourself." She picked a leaf up off the ground and threw it in the general direction of Makoto. "You're just lucky I was too tired to give you the beating you deserved."

"Sure," Makoto replied, too exhausted to bring her hands up to form inverted commas in the air. "Tired."

They lay like that for a few moments longer before the sun vanished, blocked by Michiru's lithe form.

"My, my, my, what have we here?" Michiru's eyes twinkled with mischief as she set down a picnic basket and a bottle of wine. Despite Michiru's sunny smile, Haruka was suddenly, terribly sure that the love of her life had something absolutely diabolical up here sleeve.

"Hotaru," Michiru called. "Why don't you give your Haruka-papa a hug." She patted Haruka's head fondly. "She really looks like she could use one."

Haruka managed to crawl about half a metre before Hotaru had her wrapped in a bone-crushing hug. At any other time she would have welcomed the affection with open arms but today… today her body was telling her to avoid physical contact like the plague.

"Ummm… Hotaru, do you mind letting go?" Haruka looked past her daughter and saw Ami, sweet, sweet, first aid certified Ami not far away.

"Oh." Hotaru promptly let go of Haruka and gave a little cry of surprise as she took in Haruka's assortment of bruises. "Do you want me to heal you?"

"Don't bother." That was Minako, a bag of potato chips in one hand, stereo in the other. "Those two do this every week." She placed the potato chips and stereo neatly beside Michiru's picnic basket and picked up a small stick. "Besides, they're not that injured, after all, they still twitch if you poke them." She prodded first Haruka then Makoto with her stick. "See?"

Hotaru gave a little laugh of delight. They really did twitch.

"All right," Michiru said, finally deigning to take pity on the wounded pair. "That's enough. Get up. We're going to have a picnic and we can't get that done with you two lying around like sacks of rice."

"Michiru, where's Setsuna?" Haruka and Makoto had managed to get up with a little help from Hotaru and Minako. "I don't see her anywhere."

"That's a good question. She said she was going to meet us here, but I guess…" Michiru took a quick look around the park. "She must be late."

"Setsuna's never late."

Makoto nodded. "That's true. Setsuna's always exactly on time and she always makes a great entrance." She slanted a look at Haruka. "Just like in the Matrix."

"Really?"

Makoto froze. That was Setsuna's voice. Coming from behind her.

"Just like in the Matrix?"

Haruka's eyes went as wide as saucers as she took in Setsuna's attire.

Setsuna slipped her sunglasses off her face and turned her garnet eyes onto the two wide-eyed women before her. "What exactly did you mean by that?"

"You're wearing a trench coat…" Haruka murmured.

"And you have sunglasses…" Makoto's eyes were staring at something no one else, except maybe Haruka, could see.

"Just like in the Matrix!" Haruka and Makoto shouted at once before they dissolved into hysterical laughter.

X X X X

Well… this one came out pretty fast, I think. It help's too, that I've got a number of ideas floating around in my head… so hopefully I can just keep on putting on paper what I see in my head (when I put it that way, it actually sounds kind of creepy).

What you're probably wondering about is the tone of the whole thing. This piece is a lot, lot lighter than most of the stuff I've written. There are two reasons for that. Firstly, I wanted to have a look at how Makoto and Haruka would get along, away from all the pressure that goes with being in the middle of battle. If you ask me, I think they'd get on quite well. Secondly, I wanted, no needed, to write something lighter just to make sure I still could. Hopefully I succeeded. Besides, you can learn a lot about people when they're relaxing.

As always, I implore you to leave feedback. Tell me what you think. Should I stick to the doom and gloom, or is a little bit of sunshine a good idea?


	3. Moon and Mercury

Sailor Moon Conversations 03: Moon and Mercury 

"How long has she been out there?" Usagi asked, her eyes drawn to the solitary figure on the temple's porch. "It's almost sunset."

Rei shrugged and rubbed her shoulder. The flesh there had healed somewhat since the fight, but the flesh was still sore and tender. Honestly though, she didn't mind the pain. She was lucky to still have the arm at all. "She's been out there ever since we got back."

"Have you tried talking to her?" Usagi fidgeted nervously and bit gently into her lower lip. "This isn't like Ami at all."

"We tried." Minako looked almost as worn out as Rei. "She talks, you know, without really saying anything." She sighed. "You should go talk to her, maybe she'll listen to you."

"You think so?" Usagi sounded sceptical.

"Well, you've known her the longest." Rei winced and stole a quick look at her shoulder wound. Good. The stitches hadn't torn. "She'll listen to you."

"Look," Minako added. "We've all tried speaking to her and you're the only one left, unless you want to ask the Outers." She made a face. "And you know how that would turn out."

"Yeah." Usagi shivered. "I know."

"Then go."

A moment later, Usagi found herself pushed out the door and onto the porch. She stumbled for a moment and nearly fell before she managed to steady herself. She put on a smile.

"Ummm… Ami?" she began. "Are… are you all right."

Silence.

She waited.

More silence.

"Well… okay then." Usagi padded over to where Ami sat. "Would it be okay if I sat beside you then?"

A nod.

Usagi sat and as discreetly as she could, she studied the other girl. Ami had always been quiet. Part of that was her shyness, something that she still hadn't completely shaken even after years of Minako and Haruka's company. On the other hand, Ami had never been the type for mindless chatter. When Ami spoke it was always with a purpose and it was always succinctly. She was kind of like Setsuna that way, only a lot less creepy.

"Did you know that the human body is roughly sixty percent water?"

"What?" Usagi shook herself out of her reverie and blushed. She'd been so caught up that she hadn't even noticed Ami speaking. "What did you say?"

Ami turned and smiled. It was a small smile, just a little quirk of the lips, and it didn't quite reach her eyes, her cold blue eyes. "The human body is roughly sixty percent water."

"Ummm… okay." Usagi was hard pressed to keep the smile on her face.

"I just thought you should know." Ami smiled that little smile again and her eyes glittered with arctic intensity. "Before you ask."

"Ask what?"

"What's wrong with me." Ami propped her chin up on her hands. "That would be the logical thing to ask. After all, no normal person would stay out here in the cold for several hours. It's only natural that you and the others are worried."

Usagi breathed a sigh of relief. "So you do understand why we're worried."

"Of course I understand." Ami paused. "It's just that I feel better out here. It's like," she searched for the word. "Home."

Something shimmered then in Ami's eyes, something strange and somehow inhuman, something that Usagi did not like one bit.

"What do you mean?" Usagi asked. "Isn't it cold out here?"

"How similar do you think youma are to us, Usagi?" There were little flakes of snow in Ami's hair. "Do you think they feel emotions? Do they know fear, do they know joy?" Her eyes closed. "Do they know pain?"

Usagi shivered, but not from the cold. "Why are you asking these things, Ami? Is it about the fight today, because I know that didn't go so well and Rei and the others got hurt, but we came out of it all right." She paused. "We won, didn't we?"

"We won?" There was no joy in Ami's voice only a vague, detached sort of puzzlement. "How many youma do you think we've killed? A hundred?" She shook her head. "It has to be more than that. How about two hundred? Five hundred? A thousand?"

"Ami…"

"What do you feel, Usagi, when you destroy a youma?" Ami turned to face Usagi fully, her eyes, twin pools of glacial ice. She peered deeply into Usagi's eyes. There was an intensity about Ami now, a cold and numbing intensity that seemed to permeate the very air around her.

"I feel sad," Usagi said at last. "They are still living creatures. It doesn't make me happy to kill them. I'm happy that my friends are safe and that the youma aren't going to attack anyone else, but no, it doesn't make me happy when I kill them."

"That's exactly what I thought you'd say." Ami reached over and patted one of Usagi's hands. "And that's what I would have said… once."

Ami's hands were as cold as ice now, and her eyes were colder still. They were filled with an icy calm, a deep and foreboding serenity. It was like looking into the depths of a glacier and Usagi was filled with sudden, awful need to move away, to be as far from Ami as possible.

"What do you mean, Ami?" Usagi whispered. "What do you mean by 'once'?"

Ami's eyes twinkled. "Very good. You picked up on that." She looked down at the snow-laden ground. "Did you know that the chemical composition of youma is incredibly similar to humans? Their organs and internal structure might be different but chemically, there's really not that much separating youma from humans." Ami looked up at the sky. "That's funny, in a way."

"Ami," Usagi said as she took her friend by the shoulder and turned her so that they saw eye to eye once more. "What did you mean by 'once'?"

"Do you know how our powers work, Usagi?" Ami reached out and cupped a snowflake in her hands. "Each of us can control certain things. For example, Rei can control fire. But we don't just control these things. They become an extension of our body, of our will. Our powers express our emotions. Rei's fire, for instance, is an expression of her passion, of her will. In a very real way, Rei's fire is Rei."

"Ami, where are you going with this?" There was a feeling in Usagi's gut, something that wasn't quite dread, but which was definitely more than worry.

"One of the things that makes our powers so effective is that we can actually feel what they are doing. For example, when Rei uses her fire, she can feel everything it does, from the path it takes through the air, to its impact upon the target." There was a robotic edge to Ami's voice now, as though she were an automaton, simply reciting the facts. Her face was blank, an expressionless mask of ice.

"Ami," Usagi whispered. "You're scaring me."

"Did you know that water expands when it freezes? It's one of only a few substances to do so." Ami stared at the snow. "Normally that isn't a problem, but if the water is in a contained, if it is trapped." She threw her hands apart. "It can rip the container apart."

"Ami…"

"Do you want to know how the fight ended?" Ami's voice was a whisper. "You had to get Rei out there after the youma put a claw through her shoulder so you weren't there but if you want, if you want, I could tell you."

"Ami… Ami, you don't have to tell me."

"But I do." Ami's voice was almost hypnotic now, like the wind that rustled past them, each syllable delivered with an eerily graceful cadence. "Just think about everything I've said."

It took Usagi a few moments to understand and when she did she felt her stomach heave. She was going to be sick. "Oh, Ami… you… you didn't…"

"I did." Ami looked up at the sky and ran her hands up and down her arms, shivering with what might have been cold or delight. "And it was beautiful."

"Ami… Ami… stop…"

"It came at me with that claw, that same claw that it had just put through Rei and I knew, I knew what I had to do. My ice hadn't worked before because its armour was too thick. So when I had the chance I got as close to it as I could and I put my hands on it. I reached down, Usagi, deep, deep down into that part of me where my power lies. I pulled that bitter, bitter cold out from inside of me and shoved it into the youma." She chuckled. "I can still feel it, the ice running through its veins and into every cell of its body. And then… everything happening at once. Its arteries and veins and all of the cells in its body ripping apart, bursting as the water inside of it froze and expanded. I can still see the shards of ice ripping through its skin." Ami's face was expressionless. "It was beautiful."

"Ami…" Usagi's voice was filled with horror.

"But you know, that's not the worst part." Ami's voice was barely audible now over the wind and the snow that had suddenly kicked up. "Because, I've always known that we influence our powers… and now I'm beginning to wonder how much they influence us."

"What do you mean?" Usagi was afraid of what Ami would say next.

"The whole time, the whole time," Ami took a deep breath. "I didn't feel a thing. Not a thing." Her face was the epitome of calm. "All there was inside of me was ice." She turned to Usagi and smiled. "And now you know what's wrong."

"You shouldn't be out here on your own Ami, you don't have to deal with this on your own, you-"

"It's cold, Usagi," Ami said. "You should go back inside."

And despite herself, Usagi got up. She got up and went back inside, back into the warmth of the temple. She had barely set foot inside when Rei and Minako ambushed her, eager for information. She could only shake her head.

It was completely dark when Ami came in. She came in and she smiled and Rei and Minako smiled back. Only Usagi noticed the new coldness in her eyes, only Usagi noticed that even in the warmth of the temple, wrapped in a blanket and with a cup of hot chocolate, Ami was still shivering.

She was still cold.

X X X X

Sorry about the relatively slow update on this one. I wanted to go back to the more serious side (don't worry, there will be happier ones) and this piece was something I've always wanted to do.

This piece is about Ami. But more than that, I wanted to look at how the Senshi cope with having to kill youma. It might seem like fun and games in the anime, but youma are living things and the Senshi are killing them. That is not easy. I also wanted to look at how the Senshi's power influence there personality (as opposed to reflecting their personality), and Ami was a very interesting case. Ami, I believe is a good person. She is kind and courteous and she puts others before herself. But she is the Senshi of ice, and ice is none of those things. Ice is cold and calm. I wanted to try and convey some of that conflict, and Usagi is the obvious way of doing that, as Usagi is a tremendously loving person and that sort of thing would not only disturb her, but probably frighten her as well. I hope I succeeded.

As always, I ask you to leave feedback. Please, let me know what you think.


	4. Pluto and Neptune

Sailor Moon Conversations 04: Pluto and Neptune 

"Shall we speak of what is troubling you?" Although Setsuna's eyes never left the newspaper, there was no doubt at all in Michiru's mind that all of the crimson-eyed woman's attention was on her. "You have been quite edgy all morning."

"I'm just a little distracted, that's all." Michiru reached for her coffee.

"Really?" Setsuna looked up from her newspaper and raised one emerald brow. "So far this morning you've burned yourself cooking, spilt coffee on Haruka and nearly fallen down the stairs." Setsuna leaned forward. "So tell me, what is on your mind?"

"Nothing." There was a clatter as Michiru spilt her coffee. A dark stain spread rapidly along the white tablecloth and the cup slid across the table and onto the floor.

Crack.

Michiru immediately bent down to tidy up the fragments of her broken cup but stopped when Setsuna wrapped one slender hand around her wrist.

"Sit down. I can clean this up." Crimson eyes hardened. "But when I have finished we will speak about what is troubling you. Understood?" Setsuna's voice brooked no disobedience.

It took Setsuna only a few moments to tidy up the mess before she returned to her seat across the table from Michiru. "So, Michiru, what is on your mind?"

"You'll think it's silly." Michiru's hands were clenched into fists so tightly that the knuckles were a stark shade of white. Realising what she was doing she forced herself to stop. "I had a dream."

"A dream?"

"I must seem crazy, getting so upset over a dream. After all the things we've been through. I mean, a dream shouldn't be half as scary as some of that, right? Right?"

"Do not be so hasty." Setsuna reached over the table and patted Michiru's hand. "Dreams can be troubling things. Perhaps it would help if you talked about it."

"Oh… okay." Michiru sighed and seemed to steady herself. There were shadows under her eyes. "I dreamt that I was walking along a beach, by an ocean whose name I did not know. The waves lapped at my heels and the wind was soft and gentle against my face.

"But for some reason, though there was no one there beside me, I felt as though I was not alone. I felt as though beyond the waves, past the sand and the gently sloping beach, out there in the darkness and silence of the deep there was something. Something waiting for me."

"Something?" Setsuna's eyes narrowed and her posture grew just a little more rigid. "What sort of something?"

Michiru continued, as if lost in her memories. "It was something old, something old and terrible and as I looked out to sea I felt the weight of centuries press upon me, and it seemed as though each moment that passed was an eternity. At last, when I could move again, I walked down the beach. I walked so long that above me the day turned to night and the stars wheeled overhead. I walked until my legs ached and my breath was nothing more than a bitter rasp in my lungs. I walked until I could walk no more and I fell asleep on the sands.

"When I awoke, I was not on the beach any more, but on a small boat. I was in the middle of the ocean and all around me was an eerie, deathly calm. I got up and looked around and all I could see, in every direction that I cared to look, was water, a boundless, limitless expanse of water.

"How calm it was, for not a single wave marred the surface of the sea. It was like looking into a mirror. I saw my face peering back at me and with each breath that I took, it seemed my reflection aged a score of years. I saw myself fade away, scattered like so much chaff by the winds of time.

"For a long while I floated across that calm sea, onward and onward until at last the boat came to a stop at the shore of a small island. There were no trees on the island, just rock and stone and despite my apprehension I left the boat on the beach and made my way inland.

"Eventually I came to a great place, the ruins of a building. And what a building it must have been, for even ruined, it was splendid. It was shaped like a great circle, and all along the edges of the circle I saw enormous statues. But with only the moon's light to go by I could not make out the finer details and so I moved closer to several of the statues that were nearby.

"I wished at once that I had not. For the image carved there was terrible to look upon. It was an image, an image of something that once might have been a man, but was a man no longer. It was a vile thing, a mockery of nature. It was at once fish, human and something else besides, but it possessed only the most horrifying features of each.

"I would have run then, but I was transfixed with disgust. It was only when the ground beneath me shook that I fled. I ran back to the boat, fearing that whatever force shook the island might drag it beneath the waves. How wrong I was."

Setsuna leant forward and reached for her cup of tea. She needed something to settle herself. The liquid, when she drank it, was hot, almost painfully so, but it was good. The pain kept her anchored, rooted to the here and now, to the present moment. It would not do for her to remember.

"Go on, Michiru. What happened next?"

"As I sailed the boat away, the island seemed to tremble, to shudder and then at last." Michiru's eyes widened as though seeing the sight again. "It rose… it rose and rose and rose…."

Setsuna shivered.

"The island rose upward into the night, and the waters around it churned and as I looked down I saw a great shadow in the water beneath me. There was more to the island, so much more. I sailed away as quickly as I could, but still, still the island rose. It rose upward past the crown of the sky and upward into the night, till it seemed that it was nestled in the stars and then only then, bathed in starlight, did I see what the island truly was.

"It was not stone, or rock or dirt or coral. It was flesh, flesh and scales and muscle. It was alive that island, a living, breathing, titanic thing and it rose up from the sea. I saw muscle quiver as that thing rose, as that huge, impossibly vast thing wrenched itself up from the floor of the ocean. When it had risen higher, beyond even the mantle of the night and past all the stars that circled overheard, I saw twin moons appear.

"They were its eyes, and I fear they are too terrible to describe." Michiru shuddered and took several deep, steadying breaths. "Just thinking of those eyes again is almost enough to drive me mad. In their opalescent depths I saw a thousand things, I saw the ages of the earth pass by like shadows in the night, I saw the rise and fall of man condensed into the blink of an eye. I saw the darkness that was there at the beginning and the darkness that will be there in the end. I saw everything I loved wither and die in the eyes of that thing, that awful titan born of the depths of the ocean.

"Somehow I pulled my eyes away and I realised I had to flee. It had not seen my yet, but if it did… to have those eyes, those terrible eyes fall upon me and know that it held me in its gaze… that would have killed me, or else have made me wish for death. But as I turned away I could not stop myself from taking one last look.

"I saw on its body the wrecks of ships, snagged on its scales the way a strand of hair might snag on my coat. I saw pockets of stone along its back and knew at once what they were. They were the ruins of cities, of temples, like the one I had seen. Entire cities, entire empires had risen to splendour and fallen to ruin on the back of this enormous thing, never knowing what it was.

"But as I would have turned away, I felt its gaze on me. I felt something old and terrible, something utterly inhuman touch my mind. It was like drowning in the dark. I flailed about, lost, alone, surrounded completely by its alien mind. It rose out of the sea of my memories, just as it had from the ocean, and all I could think of was how somehow, somehow I had seen this thing before that somehow, somehow I knew it and worse still, far worse, somehow it knew me. And then it spoke. It spoke to me and it told me its name."

"And then what?"

"And then I woke." Michiru's voice was barely more than a whisper and she buried her face in her hands. "And then I woke."

It was a long time before Setsuna finally spoke, and when she did it was only a single word.

Michiru froze.

"How do you know its name?" Michiru's eyes shone with unnatural brightness. "Tell me, how did you know its name?"

"You did not have a dream, Michiru, not exactly." Setsuna took a long, long sip of her tea. "Time is my domain, Michiru, and so I am privy to its secrets." She looked carefully at Michiru. "Just as you are privy to the secrets of the ocean." She settled her teacup on the table. "There are old things on this world Michiru, old, old things. Things so old that even in the days of the Moon Kingdom they were little more than legends, told in hushed whispers to frighten naughty children. But though these things are old, they are not dead. They only sleep, sleep as gods must when all those who believe in them are dead."

"What are you saying, Setsuna?"

"What I am saying, Michiru, is that your dream is best forgotten. It was a dream of Before, of old things best left forgotten, of things imprisoned by powers far greater than ourselves long before the race of men ever walked this world. Better to leave such things forgotten and undisturbed, better to put them out of your mind than risk awakening them once more."

"But what was it, Setsuna? What was it that I saw?"

Setsuna moved as if to rise, but stopped when Michiru grabbed her by the wrist. Instead, she fixed the aqua haired girl with a cold stare. "It dreams, Michiru, it sleeps and it dreams. It dreams of worlds long dead, of an ocean it will never see again. It dreams, Michiru, of the day it will be free once more."

That night Michiru dreamt again. She dreamt of an ocean whose name she did not know and of an island that rose up into the sky, an island of flesh and scale and muscle. In her dream she heard its voice again and when she woke its image was just a little sharper, its voice a little clearer.

Lying there awake, Haruka slumbering beside her, Michiru closed her eyes and whispered its name. And in the darkness she heard the rustle of the waves against some long forgotten shore and saw the ruins of a thousand ancient cities lifted upward toward the sky. And lastly, just before the darkness claimed her, a sweet and empty darkness, devoid of dreams, she heard something whisper back.

Something old and terrible.

X X X X

Well, this one came out pretty quick (does anyone else see a pattern here?). This is another serious one, but if you're looking out for something happier, don't despair, I'll see what I can do.

This piece is definitely different. Although it's dark, it's written in a completely different style (I feel) than what I usually do. Those of you in the know might recognise it as being quite Lovecraftian in style. I wanted to explore several things here. Firstly, the idea of something older than the Moon Kingdom, something older and far less, shall we say, human. I also wanted to look at the connection the Senshi have with elements (in Michiru's case, the oceans or water) and how they might relate to other entities tied to that same element. Setsuna is here because of her relationship to time, and because I think that other than Hotaru she is probably the Senshi who is best captured by the sort of imagery that Lovecraft uses. It also makes sense to have the Senshi of Time around in a story centred around ancient things best left undisturbed. Hopefully, my little jaunt into the realms of Lovecraft and his colleagues hasn't been a total waste.

As always, please leave feedback. You have no idea how much I value your comments. Good? Bad? Let me know what you think.


	5. Saturn and Venus

Sailor Moon Conversations 05: Saturn and Venus 

"What you have to do," Venus explained. "Is to pick something. Something flashy, something amazing, something that will get everybody's attention."

A puzzled frown appeared on Saturn's face. "Like what?"

"Well, take me for instance." Venus gestured down at herself. "I'm the Senshi of Love and Beauty so when I make my appearance those are the things I want to emphasise." She pointed up at one of the buildings nearby. "It's probably better if I just show you. So just stay here, okay. I'm going to go up to one of those buildings and jump back down here and make my entrance."

"Okay." Saturn nodded. "Got it."

"Good."

Venus leapt onto one of the nearby buildings and took a few moments to prepare herself. Then, with a single graceful leap she launched herself off the building. The instant she landed there was a flash of bright golden light and when Saturn could see again, Venus was surrounded by a nimbus of light. Golden hearts shimmered in the air and ribbons of light swirled around her. A seemingly localised wind stirred the ribbons and bows on her uniform and she struck a pose that was at once stern and yet utterly feminine. In short, she looked magnificent.

As the light dimmed she gazed defiantly at Saturn. "I am the Senshi of Love and Beauty, the lovely Sailor Venus and in the name of Venus I will bring you to justice!"

Silence.

"That was so cool!" Saturn clapped her hands. "That was really, really good, Venus."

Venus blushed. "Yeah, it was pretty cool, but what about you, Saturn, have you come up with any ideas. My entrance screams: look it's not just another Sailor Senshi it's Sailor Venus. You need something that scream to the world: look upon me and behold my awesomeness."

"Well…" Saturn hesitated. "I am the Senshi of Death and Rebirth."

"Oh." Venus sighed. "That does complicate things doesn't it? You can't very well just jump out and kill everyone, now can you? I mean, that kind of works, but it is a little extreme. Kind of creep too, if you ask me."

"Yeah…"

Seeing Saturn's downcast expression, Venus put a broad smile on her face. "Well, not to worry. After all, you have the lovely Sailor Venus on your side. Give me two… no, make that one week and I promise you'll have something so cool that even Pluto will have no choice but to bow down to the coolness that is Sailor Saturn."

"Really?"

"You bet." Venus flashed Saturn the 'V for victory' sign. "I've already got some great ideas."

As Venus began to rant about all the cool stuff she had thought of, Saturn smiled. Maybe it hadn't been a mistake to go to Venus about this. Setsuna and Michiru had both thought she was crazy and Haruka thought it was the funniest thing ever. But all of them had great entrances. Setsuna had her flashy red lights, Haruka had her wind and Michiru, Michiru had all that water. But what did she, Hotaru, Sailor Saturn have? Nothing. A flash of purple light and that was it. But maybe, just maybe, after all of this she'd have something to call her own. Something cool.

Yeah.

X X X X

"Mars, watch out!"

A spike of rock ripped upward from the ground as Mars hurled herself clear. She was a fraction too slow however, and the jagged rock scored a long, ugly gash along the side of her leg.

"Damn." Mars staggered to her feet. "How many shots does that thing take to die?"

The thing in question was a thirty-foot tall youma made out of solid rock. It's first approach had been to try and crush them with its massive fists and when that hadn't worked it had alternated between throwing cars and others handy projectiles, like mail boxes and street lights, at them and trying to step on them. Oh, and it could shoot spikes out of the ground as well.

"Well, gee, Mars," Venus shouted as she dodged yet another car. "It's made of rock…"

"I know that."

"So why do you keep trying to burn it?" Venus scrambled out of the path of a mailbox. Said mailbox exploded in a shower of twisted metal and crumpled paper when it hit the pavement. "I mean trying to burn the big rock thing, that's brilliant, just brilliant."

"And you did better?" Mars launched another attack. Needless to say it achieved as much as the four other attacks she'd already thrown. That is to say, it accomplished nothing.

"Would you two stop arguing!" That was Uranus. Her wind based attacks hadn't been doing very well either and the constant bickering of the two Inners was starting to get on her nerves. "And where are Pluto and Saturn, they should be here by now."

"Funny you should mention that," Venus pointed out. "Here comes Pluto now."

And sure enough, Pluto was making her entrance. She materialised on top of one of the fallen street lights. As always, streamers of crimson light swirled around her and opaque mists billowed outwards as she strode confidently forward to confront the enemy. She took three steps before she realised that everyone, giant stone youma included, was not looking at her, but rather behind her.

On top of one of the few remaining upright street lights there was a flash of violet light. It was followed by ribbons of purple energy that fluttered like so many flags in the sudden, completely localised wind. A hush fell over the area and it seemed as though everything, even the youma had gone silent. And then the ribbons exploded outward, dissolving into violet flower petals as a single voice called out, strong and confident.

"I am the Senshi of Death and Rebirth, the Soldier of Silence…" Saturn appeared in the midst of all the flower petals, twirling her glaive around. "Armed with the Silence Glaive no evil can escape me…" She pointed the glaive at the stunned youma in a single powerful gesture. "I am Sailor Saturn and I will punish you!"

"No freaking way…" Uranus murmured, stumbling over a mangled mailbox.

"What in the world…" Pluto looked stunned.

"Saturn…?" Neptune's voice was barely more than a whisper.

"You go girl!" And that of course was Venus.

And as for the youma? Why, it never knew what hit it.

X X X X

Well, sorry about the little break between updates. This is obviously a much more light-hearted piece than the previous one.

This piece is my latest attempt at humour. Don't get me wrong, I love the Inner Senshi, and I think they're fantastic, but sometimes I wonder about the practicality of their entrances. They spend a couple of minutes an episode spinning around and looking cool. In this time the enemy usually stands there looking mildly horrified. And the Outers are only a little better. What I wanted to do with this piece was to explore that particular side of the Senshi, which I find to be humorous, with something a bit more serious. I think Hotaru has always felt a little out of place when compared to the other Senshi. She has less experience than them, she's a lot younger than them and she also happens to be the most powerful (combat-wise). I think, having a cool entrance is something that she would want so that she can really feel like she's part of the group and Minako, being the kind and outgoing person she is, is the best choice to teach her. It helps that the idea of Sailor Saturn wanting a cool entrance is just plain funny. On that note, I do hope that this particular piece was entertaining.

As always, please leave some feedback. You know, did you think it was good, bad, or in between? Let me know.


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